İkizdere is a town and district of

Rize Province Rize Province ( tr, Rize ili) is a province of northeast Turkey, on the eastern Black Sea coast between Trabzon and Artvin. The province of Erzurum is to the south. It was formerly known as Lazistan, the designation of the term of Lazistan was o ...

in the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...

region of

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

Etymology

Formerly known as ''Dipotamos'' and ''Kuray-ı Sab'', İkizdere means "twin streams" in both the Pontic Greek and Turkish languages, and indeed the ''Çamlık'' and ''Cimil'' rivers meet here to form the ''İkizdere''.

Demographics

There are four ethnic groups in the district:

Greeks The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, oth ...

Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic ...

, Laz and Hemshin. The non-Turkic natives converted to Islam during the Ottoman period and during the

population exchange between Greece and Turkey The 1923 population exchange between Greece and Turkey ( el, Ἡ Ἀνταλλαγή, I Antallagí, ota, مبادله, Mübâdele, tr, Mübadele) stemmed from the "Convention Concerning the Exchange of Greek and Turkish Populations" signed at ...

, the natives stayed in the area.

Geography

This is hilly countryside inland from the

, forest-covered steep mountainside separated by narrow valleys, with areas of high pasture. The İkizdere is formed from streams running out of the Rize Mountains and continues down to the Black Sea, it is dammed for hydro-electric power and for irrigation. There is snow on the high peaks and much glacial formation. The climate is typical of the Black Sea region i.e. it frequently rains. There is broad-leaf forest at lower elevations and pine higher up. İkizdere is an agricultural district, growing tea on the hillsides and potatoes in the valley, and now some kiwi fruit are being planted also. Cattle and sheep are grazed on the hillsides, going up to the high pastures ('' yayla'') in summer. Beekeeping is another important source of income, particularly in the village of ''Anzer''. And this very attractive countryside is now attracting tourists, on trekking holidays. However, on the whole İkizdere is not a wealthy region and the younger generations migrate to Turkey's larger cities in search of jobs. The town of İkizdere is on the river bank, from the city of

Rize Rize (Greek: ρίζα, Laz: რიზინი, Georgian: რიზე, , Ottoman Turkish: ريزه) is the capital city of Rize Province in the eastern part of the Black Sea Region of Turkey. Rize is a typically Turkish provincial capital w ...

on the road to

Erzurum Erzurum (; ) is a city in eastern Anatolia, Turkey. It is the largest city and capital of Erzurum Province and is 1,900 meters (6,233 feet) above sea level. Erzurum had a population of 367,250 in 2010. The city uses the double-headed eagle as ...

History

See

for a history of this area, once part of the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

and later the Empire of Trebizond, during which periods there was a monastery there in İkizdere. In 67 BCE,

Pompey the Great Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey or Pompey the Great, was a leading Roman general and statesman. He played a significant role in the transformation of ...

led a Roman military campaign against the Heptakometes today's ikizderelian Ancestors in what is presently known as İkizdere in

’s

province. According to the Roman historians who were traveling with the army, the Heptakometes were barbarians living in the İkizdere valley. They were familiar with the effects of Mad Honey, they set out honey pots for the invading army to find. Most of the Roman soldiers consumed the honey and became intoxicated, then they were suddenly attacked and killed by the Heptakometes. Over 1800 Roman soldiers were killed during the attack. Mad Honey was the world's first known biological weapon to be used in battle by Heptakomets. İkizdere was occupied by

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

for two years during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Places of interest

* Merkez Camisi - The central mosque * The mosque in the village of Şimşirli * The mosque of Hacı Şeyh in the town of Güneyce * Güneyce bridge * The mineral water springs of Şimşirli and Ilıcaköy There are also a number of interesting wooden houses from the Ottoman period, and many areas of high meadow for walking and trekking, including: *''Çağrankaya Plateau'' *Black Grouse Bird Watching in Sivrikaya * the forest area of ''Çamlık'' * the honey-producing ''Anzer Yaylası'' *''Ovit and'' other areas of high pasture

Villages

This is a list of the villages in İkizdere districts, Turkish name first, followed by its original name in Romeyika, Laz or Homshetsi: * Güneyce köyü (''Varda''), Rüzgârlı köyü (''Mize''), Kirazlık köyü (''Manle''), * Şimşirli Köyü (''Komes''), Ilıca Köyü (''Vane''), Demirkapı (''Homeze''), Yağcılar (''Veliköy''), Sivrikaya-Çamlık köyleri (''Köhser'') *Gölyayla köyü (''Kabahor''), Çağrankaya köyü (''Oral köyü''), Cevizlik köyü (''Plakorum''), Tulumxar (''Tulumpınar''), Anzer "Ancer", Ayvalık köyü (''Kapse''), * Bakırköy köyü (''Koylav''), Tozköy (''Mahura''), Yerelma köyü (''Cevatoz''), Meşeköy (''Petran''). Ortaköy-Başköy (''Cimil''), * Eskice-Çataltepe (''Haya''), Gürdere köyü (''Ethone''), Diktaş köyü (''İksenit''), * Ballıköy-Çiçekli Köy- Köseli Köyü (''Anzer'').

References

External links

*
District governor's official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ikizdere Populated places in Rize Province Districts of Rize Province Towns in Turkey